Impervious
by Dubious Sight
Summary: 'He placed another line next to the other twenty-five. Twenty of them—now twenty-one—were all perfectly parallel.' A collection of drabbles surrounding Owen Cauldwell, Hufflepuff. Written for Fire the Canon's Character of the Week Drabble Competition.
1. Chapter 1

**Impervious**

_Prompt: Must be written in first person_

* * *

_**To** Whom it May Concern,_

_With the war over and everyone so focused on rounding up the last of the Death Eaters, I feel I should warn you that the real trouble is much closer to home. We've become used to simply resorting straight to violence to resolveour issues, and when one is the perceived enemy…_

_For so long there have been no real consequences of cursing a known Death Eater and even their offspring—of course with young, impressionable children, this behaviour willcarry over to anyone they perceive to be evil. This translates directly to those that have an affinity for the dark arts. _

_I didn't choose this. I didn't choose to have the entirety of Hufflepuff house shun me because of who my father was. Yes, I have an affinity for dark magic, but it was how I was born. You can't choose that, but you can choose what to do with it. _

_The students—my peers—do not understand this. For too long the 'light' has been the equivalent of 'good' and 'dark', 'evil'. _

_As each day passes, so does my will to survive. I wonder if this is the kind of world I will be faced with outside of these castle walls. _

_I beg you, for the safety of the others that will soon be ousted, please do something about this blatant bigotry._

_Sincerely,_

_Owen Cauldwell_


	2. Chapter 2

**Impervious**

_Prompt: __involve Hogwarts, Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley in some way_

* * *

**He** was walking along the corridor, his magic surrounding him as was required by his circumstances. However, it was a catch 22, really. By constantly shielding himself, the glow of the ever-present shield was visible to all the students—and it was a dark grey, almost black as a result of his magical affinity.

He turned to walk down the stairs leading almost directly to the Great Hall. He carefully surveyed his surroundings before allowing his shield to drop. He didn't dare to have it in use when the teachers were near—they were inclined to take points for his display of 'ridiculous behaviour' no matter how necessary it was.

He tensed, his senses alerting him to the flying glass bottle moments before it hit him. He was not fast enough to prevent it, nor the near fatal fall that followed down the stairs after. His magical core was exhausted from an entire day of holding the shield in place. He couldn't prevent the physical abuse from his attackers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Impervious**

_Prompt: Parallel_

* * *

**He** placed another line next to the other twenty-five. Twenty of them—now twenty-one—were all perfectly parallel, the only difference was their thickness—a result of the poor quill he used. The remaining five lines were all diagonal, placed across four of the parallel lines, representing each five-day mark.

Twenty-six days it had been. Twenty-six days since he had _personally_ handed his letter to Headmistress McGonagall. It was done in a public place; no one could dispute the fact that he hadn't tried. If he survived to the end of the year, he intended to take his situation to court. It would be a battle, but he was a Hufflepuff, the work didn't discourage him, nor the fact that he would have to fight with every tooth and nail to get his plea heard by the Wizengamot in the first place.

He would study to be a lawyer. He would know everything there was to know about the law and he would get the ridiculous treatment stopped.

He was disappointed. He believed McGonagall to be fair. She had always been firm, but he trusted her to do the right thing.

He was an idiot.


	4. Chapter 4

**Impervious**

_Prompt: __involve your given character in a platonic/familial relationship_

* * *

**Here** he was. At his trial. It had taken one year and two months of imprisonment before he could get to the court. Owen knew, before he had even stepped into the courtroom, this would be the last time he would see his father.

Against regulation he walked to the center of the room where the accused sat, chained to the chair.

"Owen, my dear boy." His father made a move as if to hug him, but he couldn't. His restraints saw to that.

"Father," Owen said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Neither said anything else. They took in the sights of each other, knowing it would be the last time. Owen's chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe. This wasn't fair. He couldn't have his father taken from him prematurely; he needed him.

Owen swallowed. He had to be strong. He could not let his father worry unnecessarily about him. The last year and two months had been hell, but he couldn't tell him that.

"I love you," his father said for the first and last time.

Owen nodded.

He turned and walked away.

He couldn't say it back.


	5. Chapter 5

**Impervious**

_Prompt: __involve your given character in a romantic relationship_

* * *

**Here** he was, sitting with Draco Malfoy of all people for lunch. It was a dingy pub off KnockturnAlley—the only one you could trust had good enough food safety to be able to eat. They couldn't go out in the general public. Not yet, at least. They had to prove themselves to society, but they weren't allowed in society. It was backwards and stupid. They didn't deserve this.

"I agree. It's dangerous. I'll write letters to every student who graduated within the last year with known Death Eater ties. All we really need is a place to meet and collect evidence. Then, we take this to the court."

Draco nodded and Owen soon found himself staring at the man as he gazed into his fire-whisky. He was beautiful—sure, he was thin and had dark circles under his eyes as a result of the stress, but he was still attractive.

Draco looked up, slowly meeting his eyes. He couldn't see them properly in the dim light, but Owen was sure they were brilliant. He didn't want the moment to end. Maybe, just maybe this was his chance at love. He allowed himself to become filled with hope for the first time in a long time.

Draco looked away.

The spell was broken.


End file.
